as for boehner and obama, they actually did see each other in person at the white house holiday party last night in black tie. while other lawmakers waited in line to get the photo with the president, multiple sources from both sides of the aisle tell cnn that boehner wasn't among them. so much for holiday cheer. we have this picture. we're waiting for the day there's a fiscal cliff. there wasn't total silence in washington today. senate majority leader harry reid spoke up. but in his case, in the form of a swipe. >> i sympathize with john boehner. the key party has a firm grip on the republican party, and that's obvious, what's happened this morning here in washington. >> reporter: that disconnect in the gop was in the spotlight today. jim demint spoke out against boehner's proposal to the president. >> republicans should not be conceding that the federal government needs more money, negotiating with ourselves, and treating the president's proposal like it's serious. >> very critical of john boehner. and demint's press release aimed squarely at john boehner. $800 billion tax hike wil